Tuscon: US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords battled for her life on Sunday after an assailant shot her in the head and killed six others in a rampage that has launched a debate about extreme political rhetoric in America.
The 40-year-old Democratic lawmaker was in critical condition and doctors were cautiously optimistic she would survive. The suspected gunman was in federal custody as investigators sought a motive in the shooting of a US lawmaker and looked for a possible accomplice.
Saturday's shooting shocked politicians in Washington, where Congress postponed a vote on health-care reform later this week. Following an acrimonious campaign ahead of midterm congressional elections last November, some commentators were quick to cite a shrill climate of political vitriol might have played a role in the shooting.
"We are in a dark place in this country right now and the atmospheric condition is toxic," Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver told NBC's "Meet the Press."
The suspected gunman, identified as Jared Lee Loughner, 22, opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol at point-blank range outside a supermarket, killing six people including US federal judge John Roll and a nine-year-old girl. Twelve others were wounded.
Arizona police released a photo of a man sought for questioning who was seen at the shopping center where the attack occurred and may be associated with the suspect. He is white and thought to be 40 to 50 years old.
Police seeking a motive for the shooting spree were looking at a trail of anti-government messages on the Internet left either by Loughner or someone writing under that name. There was no coherent theme to the messages.
"This was the act of a deranged individual," conservative Republican Senator Rand Paul told "Fox News Sunday."
US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner ordered flags at the US Capitol in Washington lowered to half staff in memory of the victims. He said the incident was a reminder that public service comes with a risk.
"This inhuman act should not and will not deter us from our calling to represent our constituents and fulfill our oaths of office. No act, no matter how heinous, must be allowed to stop us from our duty," Boehner said.
In Tucson, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said the suspect "has kind of a troubled past and we're not convinced that he acted alone." He said he believed Giffords was the intended target of the shooting.
Dupnik said the suspect had made threats to kill in the past but not against Giffords.
President Barack Obama put FBI Director Robert Mueller in charge of the investigation. "We don't yet know what provoked this unspeakable act," Obama told reporters on Saturday.
Giffords was shot once in the head with the bullet going "through and through," according to a trauma surgeon at the Tucson hospital where she was airlifted for surgery.
"Everybody has a guarded optimism about her surviving," Tucson mayor Bob Walkup told Reuters on Sunday morning. Walkup spoke to Giffords' husband at about midnight.
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